Centrifuges for continuously feeding and removing liquid from lubrication-impregnated metal chips or shavings are well known in the art and the teachings in Hultsch et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,233,735, Steimel U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,318 and Dudley U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,814 are representative teachings of such structures. Another teaching of a centrifuge is embodied in U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,176, filed Oct. 11, 1977. In that disclosure, a plurality of blades are provided in the bottom of the separator bowl. The blades are formed as part of a bowl liner which lines the bottom wall of the separator bowl, as well as the internal wall thereof. The liner protects the internal wall surface of the separator bowl against wear. It has been noted that when blades are provided in the bottom of the separator bowl, the leading surface of the blades collects metal shavings as the bowl is rotated and centrifugal force throws the metal shavings radially outwardly into engagement with the internal wall surface of the separator bowl. Repeated movement of the metal shavings along the radially outermost portion of the blades along the internal wall surface of the separator bowl results in wear on the internal wall surface of the separator bowl at the juncture between the blades and the internal wall surface of the separator bowl. The disclosure in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,176 minimizes this wear pattern by lining the separator bowl with a liner which has a plurality of blades fixedly disposed thereon.
While the solution to the wear problem is generally satisfactory in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,176, the replacement of the liner after it becomes worn along a path at the juncture between the radially outermost portion of the blades and the internal wall surface of the liner is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Therefore, it is highly desirable that wear on the separator bowl itself be minimized without necessitating time-consuming replacements of the entire separator bowl or liners for the separator bowl.
It is an object of this invention to minimize wear on the internal surface of the separator bowl by providing a plurality of blades in the bottom of a separator bowl which are movable relative to the separator bowl so that the path of movement of the metal shavings along the internal wall surface of the separator bowl is continually changed to present a new and unworn portion of the internal wall surface to the movement of metal shavings thereover.
It is a further object of this invention to provide structure for mounting the blades in the bottom of the separator bowl, which structure will effect an automatic movement of the blades relative to the internal wall surface of the separator bowl in response to the blades engaging extraordinarily large objects in the metal shavings, such as rod ends, workmen's tools and the like, which, from time to time, become embodied within the metal shavings.
It is a further object of this invention to provide structure for supporting the blades for relative movement in the separator bowl, which structure can be manually engaged to move the blades relative to the internal wall surface of the separator bowl to expose an unworn segment of internal wall surface to metal shavings passing thereover along a path adjacent the leading side and radially outermost portion of the blades and the internal wall surface of the separator bowl.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a blade support structure, as aforesaid, which can be readily included in existing equipment at a minimum of expense.